Priest and king of Salem (later identified as Jerusalem). Gave shelter to Abraham and blessed him, saying that through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Identified by some rabbinic sources with Shem.

In Beliefs. Said to have been created along with Eve in God’s image in Genesis 1:26-31, but from the dust of the earth in Genesis 2:7-9. In the first creation narrative, he is described as being the crown of creation but in the second as occupying the lesser role of caretaker or cultivator (Genesis 2:15).
He along with Eve were to be expelled from the Garden of Eden, as both were guilty of tasting from the forbidden fruits of the Tree of Knowledge. In punishment it is said that he would be fated to toil in anguish for his livelihood and be forever bound by his own mortality (Genesis 3:17-19)

One of two young men who were given the gift of prophecy by God while the Israelites were in the wilderness during the latter part of the Exodus . Joshua complained to Moses that Medad and Eldad were speaking prophecy in the camp, but Moses replied that he wished that all of God's people were prophets (Numbers 11:26-29).

Eldest son of Joseph and Asenath. Before he died, his grandfather Jacob adopted Menasseh and his brother Ephraim on a par with his sons Reuben and Simeon, thus ensuring that each would lead an entire Israelite tribe (Genesis 48:5,16). Menasseh received a lesser blessing than his younger brother as Jacob prophecied that Ephraim's descendants would become more important than those of Menasseh, although his nation would also 'attain greatness' (Genesis 48:13-20).

Son of Keturah, Abraham's second wife, and also allegedly the founder of the Midianite people, herdsmen and merchants who lived on the northeast of the Gulf of Aqaba on the Arabian peninsula and who later often involved in skirmishes with the Israelites.Moses took refuge with them as a young man and found a wife, Tzipporah, from among them. The Midianites have also been associated with the Kenite tribe: Enoch, son of Cain, is mentioned among the Midianites in Genesis 25:4.
Midian is located below Edom and is bordered by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.

Daughter of Amram and Yokhebed, and elder sister of Moses and Aaron. When Pharoah's daughter found the baby Moses, Miriam suggested her mother, Yochebed, as his wetnurse. After Moses left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, Miriam led the women in the song of victory (Exodus 15:20). She became ill with leprosy after denouncing Moses' marriage to Tzipporah (Numbers 12:1-15), until Moses interceded on her behalf. She died in Kadesh in the wilderness towards the end of the Exodus (Numbers 20:1).

Son of Ham and grandson of Noah. The ancestor of the Egyptians. Modern Egypt lies at the north-eastern corner of Africa. Egypt as known in Bible times reaches from the part of the Nile Valley between the Mediterranean Sea in the north and Aswan in the south. Abraham would have been in Egypt some time during the 12th Dynasty (c.2000-1900 B.C.E.). The sojourn of Joseph in Egypt would probably have been after 1700 B.C.E.The most probable date of the Exodus from Egypt is during the latter half of the reign of Rameses II (1290-1223 B.C.E.).

Born in Egypt to Amram and Yokhebed, Moses became the great leader, teacher and law-giver of the Jewish nation. After being found in a basket in the river Nile by Pharoah's daughter, Moses grew up in Egypt but fled to Midian after killing an Egyptian taskmaster. He took refuge with a Midianite priest,Jethro and married his daughter Tzipporah. They had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer.
In Horeb Moses saw God in the middle of a burning bush (Exodus 3), instructing him to lead his brethren out of Egypt into the Promised Land, but Pharoah increased their burden.Various miracles (Exodus 7:8-13) and ten plagues were visited upon the Egyptians until the slaying of the first-born forced their flight. Moses, his elder brother Aaron, sister Miriam and the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds or Red Sea (Exodus 14:28) and received the Covenant at Mount Horeb, or Sinai (Exodus 19:1). Moses codified the laws and issued ordinances that were to form the basis of Israelite belief and practice. He commissioned the making of the Tabernacle, Ark and sacred vestments (see Betzalel, Oholiav), took a census of the people (Numbers 1) and sent the 12 spies, including Joshua and Caleb into Canaan, although according to tradition he was denied entry into the Promised Land. He died aged 120 on Mount Nebo and was buried in secret near Beth Peor in Moab.

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